Brownback-Giuliani meeting stirs debate

Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Sen. Sam Brownback (R) !(The Hill) Anti-abortion group defends Brownback-Giuliani talks: The National Right to Life Committee, the nation’s leading anti-abortion rights advocacy group, has come to the defense of Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) after he received strong criticism for meeting with Rudy Giuliani last week to discuss a possible endorsement. In a letter sent Friday, the group signaled that Brownback could back Giuliani in the primary and hold onto his position as a leading advocate for the protection of unborn life with the support of an important advocacy group. … On Thursday, Brownback underscored his potential support for Giuliani by declaring he was “much more comfortable” with the candidate’s views on abortion after meeting with him for more than an hour in the Hart Senate Office Building. The assertion, which came while Brownback stood beside Giuliani for an impromptu press conference, drew a rebuke from Jim Bopp Jr., a prominent legal advocate for conservative groups opposing abortion, who supports Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. “There’s obviously something more going on here than fidelity to the pro-life cause,” Bopp told Talking Points Memo, a left-leaning blog. “Brownback is angling for some personal political benefit by cozying up to Giuliani.” The leaders of the National Right toLife Committee, which retains Bopp as general counsel, rejected the criticism in the letter to Brownback.Rep. Jerry Moran (R) !(Topeka Capital-Journal) Moran: Bill will determine domestic food’s future: U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran called on the nation Monday to intensify response to famine flash points around the world – without neglecting hunger of people close to home. “We can’t forget that there are people who go to bed hungry in Kansas,” the Kansas Republican said during a hunger conference in Topeka. Moran, co-chair of the House hunger caucus and a member of the House Agriculture Committee, said debate in Washington on the 2007 farm bill would determine the future of domestic food and nutrition programs.